Well what can I say – it was absolutely fabulous!
The atmosphere, the people, the music, the dancing, the food – I had a fantastic time and simply cannot wait to go back!
Something that was quite strange for me was that there isn’t the amount of salsa dancing that I expected to find – the best way to dance out there is to either go with people who’ve been before or to make friends with the locals and get them to take you out and dance with them – it was still amazing and absolutely something I would recommend doing – but having good Cuban contacts makes the experience much more enjoyable.
One thing that absolutely blew me away was the response to our dancing over there – I have to say I was a little intimidated going over there being that salsa originated in Cuba and we were mere tourists. But much to my surprise and sheer amazement not only was the response from EVERYWHERE we went overwhelmingly positive (Cubans were constantly coming up to us and praising our dancing) but we were being asked by everyone to teach them our style (staggeringly - I was completely stunned....) Now I know that although I am a good dancer and I can more than hold my own on the dance floor – but we weren't going out there to prove anything at all or 'show what we can do' - we were just enjoying the music, and the atmosphere and enjoying dancing together - and I think it was this as well as the difference in styles that people were responding to. I was delighted with their desire to share their style and learn and take on ours too - mostly it was great fun - which to be honest - is the whole point of salsa in the first place!!
We are in the process of arranging the details for the holiday we’re running out there next year (April / May) and as soon as they are finalised I’ll post them here for anyone who would like to go – I certainly can’t wait to get back there! You can’t explain it really – it’s a feeling and an atmosphere that has to be experienced – I could have sat there and soaked it up for months – it was so chilled, yet passionate, the people were vibrant and friendly and I can’t wait to be back among them again.
For anyone going here’s some information that you might find useful:
This is a good website for recommendations on places to eat - every recommendation we had from here was spot on – I would avoid eating in the hotels / government restaurants – paladares are the only way to do it and if you get the right ones the food / surroundings / atmosphere is incredible:
http://users.pandora.be/casaparticular/host/notes_from_the_underground.htm
I would recommend taking a tour when you first get there in order to get your bearings round Havana and find the main points of interest.
The main one (and the one we did) is:
Havana City Tour: This tour is organized by the company Cubanacán. There are two departure points to choose from, one in Old Havana and the other from the hotels. It is a complete tour, with visits to the main tourist sites in the city, including the Museo de los Capitanes Generales, a tobacco factory, the Casa del Café y del Ron. Disabled access is available. Calle 5 e/ Avenida y 68, Miramar, La Habana, +53 7 33 2047 (Information) +53 7 33 2715.
Places of interest worth seeing in Havana are:
Capitolio Nacional - if you do the inside of this - it's worth getting a guide as you get to enter the rooms and see bits that you otherwise wouldn't.
Central Park
El Malecón
Plaza de Armas
Plaza de la Catedral
Botanical Gardens - lovely but quite a way out of the city so only do if you have the time and probably worth getting the taxi to wait as it's hard to get on from out there!
Cemetery de Colon – Go here to see the Milagrosa (Miracle Lady) and the statue of the faithful dog.
There's a lovely market not far from the Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral - opposite the where the Statue of Christ looks over the harbour - this is a good place to get souvenirs and there are also Horse and Carriage rides from this area which are a great way to see old Havana.
If people are interested in good Cuban music / dancing then Cafe Cantante on Revolutionary Square and the Casa de la Musica in Havana are good places (can vary on the amount of people/dancing depending on the band) - but I would absolutely recommend making friends with some of the cuban people and getting them to take them to places to dance - apparently the roof of the Ingletterra hotel is good for dancing - but again we didn't make it on this last trip.
I wouldn't recommend the Cubanacan tour to Varadero as the hotel and food were awful - but the beach was beautiful so would be worth finding a way of visiting a beach if you don’t do this as part of your trip – one of our Cuban friends took us to one that was half hour away from Havana (not 2 hours as Varadero was!) which was just as beautiful and no problems with the food / surroundings.
I've got tons of information if there's anything in particular people want to know or any area I've missed then let me know - I've probably got some info on it somewhere!!
Thank you so much for all your help – I’ll keep you posted on next year’s holiday
Hugs,
Claire xx
